Shipping container



June 2, 1964 T. H. CRICKARD ETAL 3,

SHIPPING CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 14, 1961 INVENTORS mamasfl- CAP/(14409 H/wow L. Sue-57's June 2, 1964 T. H. CRICKARD ETAL3,135,332

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Aug. 14, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 2, 1964 T.H. CRICKARD ETAL 3, 3 ,38

SHIPPING CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 14, 1961 INVENTORS BY C/E 5 ML 8 United States Patent 3,135,382 SHWPIN G CQNTAINER Thomas H.Crickard, Huntington, W. Va., and Harold L.

Sheets, Chesapeake, ()hio, assignors to The International NickelCompany, Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Deiaware Filed Aug. 14,1961, Ser, No. 131,306

3 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) The present invention relates to shippingcontainers and, more particularly, to shipping containers for U-shapedobjects.

Attempts have been made to provide a satisfactory shipping container forU-shaped objects, for example, U- shaped tubes. Metal U-tubes of longlength, for example, ones having'leg lengths of the order of 30 feet,such as are used in heat exchangers, are bulky and are particularlysubject to being damaged in transit. If such tubes are shipped in ahaphazard manner, the assembler of the heat exchanger can easily becomeconfused with regard to the bend radius of a given U-tube since the longlength of the legs makes the tubes very flexible. Thus, it is importantto package such tubes so as to segregate tubes of the vari ous bendradii. It follows therefore that in order to provide a satisfactoryshipping container for U-shaped tubes, one must provide a containerwhich will segregate tubes of a given size (i.e., bend radius), protectthe tubes from damage and make maximum use of valuable shipping space.Furthermore, the container must be designed and constructed so that itpermits the packaging of tubes having bend radii which diifer onlyslightly, it facilitates individual removal of the contents by theconsignee and it is sufficiently inexpensive that it can be destroyedafter the removal of the contents. Although attempts were made toprovide a satisfactory shipping container for U- shaped objects, none,as far as we are aware, was entirely successful when carried intopractice commercially on an industrial scale.

It has now been discovered that by means of a special combination ofstructural elements, a novel, highly useful shipping container forU-shaped objects can be provided.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel containerfor U-shaped objects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel shipping containerfor U-shaped tubes.

The invention also contemplates providing a novel shipping container forelongated U-shaped tubes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel process forpacking elongated U-shaped tubes in nesting relationship.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the novel container of thepresent invention when the container is partially filled with nestedU-tubes;

' FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of said partially filledcontainer taken on the line IIII of FIGURE 1 FIG. 3 shows an enlargedsectional view taken on the line III--III of FIGURE 1 showing thecontainer when it contains a full complement of sets of nested U-tubesin an arrangement differing from the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a temporary holding member which can be employed whenpacking the container of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a full container adapted to contain sixsets of U-shaped tubes.

Generally speaking, the present invention contemplates a novel containerfor U-shaped objects, e.g., tubes, which comprises an enclosure having abottom and vertical end 3,135,382 Patented June 2, 1964 and side walls,wherein positioning and aligning means positioned at at least onespacing station is provided to segregate U-shaped objects of variousbend radii into sets (each member of the set having the same bendradius) and to prevent lateral shifting of the objects during handlingor transport. The means positioned at the spacing station or stationscomprises a central packing member and spacing elements equal in numberto between N 1 and N +1, inclusive (where N is a whole number greaterthan 1 and is the number of nested sets of U-shaped objects to be packedin one layer and is equal to one half the maximum number of legs of theU-shaped objects for which provision is to be made in any one layer inthe container). The central packing member of the positioning andaligning means is positioned substantially midway between the side wallsof the container, is supported in a vertical position advantageouslyfrom the bottom of the container and has an interlateral dimension (orwidth, i.e.,'

a dimension in a direction normal to the side walls) about equal to theinside bend diameter of the smallest U-shaped article to be packed. Thespacing elements associated with said central packing member arepositioned when N is an even number so that at least N/2 spacingelements are positioned on a first side of said central packing memberand at least N 2-1 spacing elements are positioned on the other oropposite side of said central packing member. The spacing elements ormembers positioned on said first side of said packing member areindividually positioned to define an inner space or packing slot whichis substantially equal in width to the width of a leg portion of theU-shaped object to be packed between the central packing member and thenearest (in interlateral direction) spacing element, to define N/21intermediate outwardly progressing spaces between each other equal ininterlateral dimension to about twice the dimension of said inner spaceand to' define an outer space about equal in interlateral dimension tosaid inner space. The spacing elements on the opposite side of saidcentral packing member are positioned so that they define N 2 spacesbetween the central packing member and the wall of the container, eachspace or leg receptacle having an interlateral dimension substantiallyequal to twice the width of a leg portion of the U- shaped objects to bepacked. When N is an odd number at least N 1/ 2 spacing elements arepositioned on the first side of said packing member to define an innersinglewidth space and N 1/ 2 double-width spaces between saidsingle-width space and the container wall. On the opposite side of saidcentral packing member at least N l/ 2 spacing elements are positionedto define an outer singlewidth space and N- 1/2 double-width spacesbetween the outer space and the central packing member. It is to benoted that while containers in accordance with the present inventionmerely require positioning and aligning means comprising a centralpacking member and N -l spacing elements or spacers in associationtherewith, two additional spacing elements separating the legs of theU-shaped object having the largest bend radius from the walls of thecontainer can be employed with advantage. It is to be observed that whenvarious numbers of spacers are employed between N +1 and N l, thecentral packing member can be slightly to one side or the other of thecentral plane of the container. In addition, it is advantageous that thenovel container of the present invention include a plurality ofpositioning and aligning means separated from each other along thelength of. the container. Thus, it is advantageous to have positioningand aligning means at uniform intervals along the length of thecontainer at a maximum of about five feet apart.

In carrying the invention into practice, it is advantageous to provide acontainer which is substantially rectangular in plan view and whichcontains a plurality of positioning and aligning means along the lengththereof. Of course, each of said means is positioned so that theaforementioned first side of each central packing member is toward thesame side of the box. Advantageously, each positioning and aligningmeans occupies only a small portion of the length of the container asshown in the drawings. Referring now thereto, it is to be observed fromFIGURE 1 that an advantageous container in accordance with the presentinvention comprises a wooden enclosure 11 having a bottom 12, side walls13 and 13a and end walls 14. At spacing stations 15 and 16, the sidewalls and bottom are reinforced by external reinforcing members or ribs1'7 which are advantageously nailed or otherwise fastened to side walls13, 13a, bottom 12 and to each other. Internally with respect tocontainer 11 and, advantageously, longitudinally coextensive withreinforcing members 17, are positioned means 18 for positioning andaligning. Means 1% includes packing member 19 substantially centrallylocated between side walls 13, 13a which is supported from bottom 12 onbottom board 20. In addition, means 18 includes spacing elements 21 (ato j). As illustrated, the first side of packing member 19 is designated1%. Packing member 19 has an interlateral dimension substantially equalto the inside bend diameter of the smallest U-shaped tube 22 to bepacked. Spacing elements 21a to 21 are positioned on the first side ofpacking member 19 and are supported in slots 23 in bottom board asdepicted in FIG. 3. As pointed out hereinbefore, the positions of thespacers are proportioned so that the interlateral space between packingmember 19 and spacing element 21a is substantially equal in interlateraldimension to the width (or outside diameter [O.D.]) of U- shaped tube22. The interlateral spaces between spacing elements 21a and 21b, 21band 210, 21c and 21d and 21d and 21a are substantially equal indimension to twice the CD. of a leg of the tube 22. Finally, adjacentouter side wall 13a, the interlateral distance between spacers 21e and21f is substantially equal to the CD. of a leg of tube 22. On theopposite side of central packing member 19, spacing elements 21g to 21kdefine a plurality of spaces each having an interlateral dimensionsubstantially equal to twice the CD. of a leg of tube 22. In thecontainer as illustrated, which is contemplated to contain in a singlelayer 10 sets of nested U-shaped tubes of the same O.D. but differentbend radii, the number of spacing elements on the first side of packingmember 19 is equal to 6 and on the other side of said packing member 19is equal to 5. Of course, one or both of spacing elements 21 and 21k canbe eliminated and the sides brought closer together to define the outerspace. In the event tubes 24, 25 or 26 (or other U-shaped objects to bepacked) do not have uniform leg thickness and/or diameter, then thespaces defined by packing member 19 and spacing elements 21a and definedby the elements defining the outermost space on the first side ofpacking member 19 have single-leg width interlateral dimensions. All theother spaces defined by spacing elements and/or a spacing element andside wall 13 and/ or packing member 19 have double-leg widthinterlateral dimensions. As shown in cross section in FIGS. 2 and 3, theU-bend portions and the legs of the tubes can be supported from thebottom on pillows 27 and fillers 29, respectively.

The tube packing process of the present invention is described withparticular reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows a cross section of thenovel container of the present invention having a full complement ofsets (as illustrated, numbering 10 sets) of U-shaped tubes insertedtherein. Spacing elements 21a to 21 inclusive, on side 19a of packingmember 19 are positioned to define an inner single-width space and anouter single-width space and N/ 2-1 double-width spaces intermediatesaid single-width spaces. On the opposite side of packing member 19,spacing elements 21g to 21k, inclusive, are positioned to define N/2double-width spaces between packing member 19 and side wall 13. Inpacking the container, enclosure 11 is provided with central packingmeans or member 19 and spacing elements 21 (a to k) advantageouslypositioned by notched bottom board 20. The set of tubes 22 having thesmallest bend radius is positioned with the legs thereof on oppositesides of packing member 19. On the first side 19a of packing member 19,the set of tubes is held in position by spacing element 21a. On theopposite side of packing member 19, the legs of tubes 22 are held inplace by a removable holding member 28 such as depicted in FIG. 4, whichholding member is advantageously spaced longitudinally apart fromspacing station 16. When the members of each set of tubes are not equalin number, for example, as illustrated, filler blocks 29 havingsubstantially the same width as a tube leg, are advantageously employedto equalize the tube levels in the box when filled. Thus, after thesmallest tube set is packed, each of the additional tube sets isthereafter packed taking care that the free (or semi supported) legs ofeach set are temporarily supported by removable holding member 28 or thelike until the next larger tube set is packed. Of course, once the nextlarger tube set is packed, temporary holding member 28 is removed. Whenall the tubes are packed, top board 30 is set in position abovepositioning and aligning means 18, top 31 can be nailed or otherwisefastened in place and top reinforcing member 32 can likewise be nailedor otherwise fastened in place across the spacing station.

To assist in the unpacking of the U-shaped tubes from the containers ofthe present invention, the containers are provided with a plurality ofholding strips 33 as shown in FIG. 5. Referring now thereto, it is to benoted that holding strips 33 are fastened to bottom 12 near sides 13,13a advantageously by holder 34. Each of the holding strips from eachside is positioned between one pair of commonly slotted tubes 35, passthrough sides 13, 13a by slots 36 and are fastened on the outside ofsides 13, 13a advantageously by tacking. Holding strips 33 areadvantageously made of jute webbing and serve to hold the larger tubesin place in a slot in the positioning and aligning means 18 while thesmaller tubes are being removed. Thereafter, the holding strip is cut topermit removal of the larger tube in said slot. Advantageously aplurality of sets of holding strips are employed along the length of thecontainer.

The present invention is particularly applicable to the shipment ofU-shaped tubes for use in heat exchangers whereby the assembly of theexchanger is facilitated by virtue of the fact that sets of uniform bendradius tubes are readily available in the shipping container. Theshipping container which is advantageously made of wood can be destroyedafter use because of its low cost and is most economical in use ofvaluable shipping space. Because of its unique construction, theshipping containers of the present invention give satisfactoryprotection to the tubes during normal handling and shipping and can beemployed to ship tubes having smaller differences in bend radii than canbe shipped in containers known heretofore. In particular, the minimumdifference in bend radii among U-tubes shippable in the presentcontainer is approximately 50% less than the minimum difference in bendradii among U-tubes shippable in containers known heretofore.

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction withpreferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications andvariations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readilyunderstand. Such modifications and variations are considered to bewithin the purview and scope of the invention and appended claims.

We claim:

1. A shipping container for nestable sets of singlebend, uniformcaliper, U-shaped tubes of the type used in fabricating heat exchangeunits, said container comprising:

(A) a bottom, a pair of end walls and a pair of side walls fixedlyjoined to define an elongated rectangular enclosure;

(B) a plurality of sets of U-shaped tubes of uniform external calipernested in saidienclosure, each of said tubes having only a singlebendand having a pair of elongated legs and each tube in any particular sethaving the same bend radius as all other tubes in that particular set;and

(C) a plurality of spacing and aligning means positioned atsubstantiallyuniform intervals along the length of the container, each of saidspacing and aligning means comprising (1) a plurality of laterallyspaced, vertically extending spacers arranged in a row transverse thelength of said rectangular enclosure and substantially equally dividedin number by (2) a central packing member having a width substantiallyequal to the inner bend radius of the U-shaped tube having the smallestbend radius and positioned astride a central vertical plane extendinglongitudinally through said enclosure, 7

(3) said spacers being positioned non-symmetrically to said centralvertical plane (a) to define on a first side of said central packingmember an innermost single caliper-width space and a plurality of doublecaliper-width spaces positioned in sequence directly from said innermostspace toward one side Wall and (b) to define on the second side of saidcentral packing member an innermost double caliper-width space and aplurality of additional double caliper-width spaces positioned insequence directly from said innermost double caliper'width space towardthe other side wall, the total number of double caliper-width spaces onsaid second side being at least equaliu number to the number of doublecaliper-width spaces on said first side of said central packing member;

(D) said nested sets of U-shaped tubes being positioned and aligned bysaid positioning and aligning means so that all tubes of the same bendradius in said nested sets are in a single vertical stack, so that thelegs of each tube are on opposite sides of said central packing memberfrom one another and are positioned substantially parallel to saidcentral vertical plane, and so that legs of adjacently-sized tubes arein contact along their length on one side of said central packing memberand are spaced apart from each other by a spacer on the other side ofsaid central packing member.

2. A shipping container as in claim 1 having a plurality of holdingstrips spaced longitudinally apart from said positioning and aligningmeans, each of said holding strips being fixedly attached to said bottomand extending upwardly therefrom tautly between contacting legs ofadjacently-sized tubes andbeing fixedly attached to the upper portion ofa side wall.

3. A shipping container as in claim 2 wherein the spacers of eachpositioning and aligning means are supported from said bottom by abottom board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS CanadaMay 1,1956

1. A SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR NESTABLE SETS OF SINGLEBEND, UNIFORMCALIPER, U-SHAPED TUBES OF THE TYPE USED IN FABRICATING HEAT EXCHANGEUNITS, SAID CONTAINER COMPRISING: (A) A BOTTOM, A PAIR OF END WALLS ANDA PAIR OF SIDE WALLS FIXEDLY JOINED TO DEFINE AN ELONGATED RECTANGULARENCLOSURE; (B) A PLURALITY OF SETS OF U-SHAPED TUBES OF UNIFORM EXTERNALCALIPER NESTED IN SAID ENCLOSURE, EACH OF SAID TUBES HAVING ONLY ASINGLE BEND AND HAVING A PAIR OF ELONGATED LEGS AND EACH TUBE IN ANYPARTICULAR SET HAVING THE SAME BEND RADIUS AS ALL OTHER TUBES IN THATPARTICULAR SET; AND (C) A PLURALITY OF SPACING AND ALIGNING MEANSPOSITIONED AT SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM INTERVALS ALONG THE LENGTH OF THECONTAINER, EACH OF SAID SPACING AND ALIGNING MEANS COMPRISING (1) APLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED, VERTICALLY EXTENDING SPACERS ARRANGED INA ROW TRANSVERSE THE LENGTH OF SAID RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE ANDSUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL DIVIDED IN NUMBER BY (2) A CENTRAL PACKING MEMBERHAVING A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE INNER BEND RADIUS OF THEU-SHAPED TUBE HAVING THE SMALLEST BEND RADIUS AND POSITIONED ASTRIDE ACENTRAL VERTICAL PLANE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID ENCLOSURE,(3) SAID SPACERS BEING POSITIONED NON-SYMMETRICALLY TO SAID CENTRALVERTICAL PLANE (A) TO DEFINE ON A FIRST SIDE OF SAID CENTRAL PACKINGMEMBER AN INNERMOST SINGLE CALIPER-WIDTH SPACE AND A PLURALITY OF DOUBLECALIPER-WIDTH SPACES POSITIONED IN SEQUENCE DIRECTLY FROM SAID INNERMOSTSPACE TOWARD ONE SIDE WALL AND (B) TO DEFINE ON THE SECOND SIDE OF SAIDCENTRAL PACKING MEMBER AN INNERMOST DOUBLE CALIPER-WIDTH SPACE AND APLURALITY OF ADDITIONAL DOUBLE CALIPER-WIDTH SPACES POSITIONED INSEQUENCE DIRECTLY FROM SAID INNERMOST DOUBLE CALIPER-WIDTH SPACE TOWARDTHE OTHER SIDE WALL, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DOUBLE CALIPER-WIDTH SPACES ONSAID SECOND SIDE BEING AT LEAST EQUAL IN NUMBER TO THE NUMBER OF DOUBLECALIPER-WIDTH SPACES ON SAID FIRST SIDE OF SAID CENTRAL PACKING MEMBER;(D) SAID NESTED SETS OF U-SHAPED TUBES BEING POSITIONED AND ALIGNED BYSAID POSITIONING AND ALIGNING MEANS SO THAT ALL TUBES OF THE SAME BENDRADIUS IN SAID NESTED SETS ARE IN A SINGLE VERTICAL STACK, SO THAT THELEGS OF EACH TUBE ARE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CENTRAL PACKING MEMBERFROM ONE ANOTHER AND ARE POSITIONED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAIDCENTRAL VERTICAL PLANE, AND SO THAT LEGS OF ADJACENTLY-SIZED TUBES AREIN CONTACTALONG THEIR LENGTH ON ONE SIDE OF SAID CENTRAL PACKING MEMBERAND ARE SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER BY A SPACER ON THE OTHER SIDE OFSAID CENTRAL PACKING MEMBER.